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today's ahead of the iowa caucuses, who, if anyone, can beat donald trump. and will the weather across iowa actually tank turn up? we have a forecast on all fronts. also tonight, kicking the can down the road, there's a deal to fund the government but not a budget, just more time to talk. and infighting among house republicans is a hurdle to clear too much. plus, israel accused of committing genocide tonight. the case south africa is taken to the international court of justice. i am ayman mohyeldin, let's get it. ♪ ♪ ♪

we are just an hour from getting a final look at where voters and i will stand a day before this year's first republican caucus. the final des moines register poll is set to jump at nine pm eastern time, and we will reveal voters first and second choice for president right here on this network. this poll is known for its historical accuracy, could also fuel momentum for a late surging candidate or pile on a flagging on. and that momentum would be very much needed as voters will be battling sub-zero temperatures to come out on caucus night, according to the national weather service, the high on monday is supposed to be three degrees below zero. the low is expected to plummet below 11 degrees. the candidates have already decided to cancel events this week due to the freezing weather, just too dangerous. as political points out, trump's most urgent problem in the primary is no longer rhonda scent this or nikki haley. it is this act of god. the trump campaign has

converted most o this weekend's events into rallies, which include sharing social media posts and using, quote, good old-fashioned telephones to reach his supporters. they've also begun signing up drivers with four wheel drive cars in key areas to shuttle supporters to caucus sites. nikki haley has also resorted to telephone town halls yesterday, but she was back on the campaign trail today. rhonda scent this was also back on the road, at his first stop in -- he promised to fight for iowans, if they would come out for him, in spite of the freezing temperatures. but it is just to be seen how voters will fare the extreme weather come monday. on the primaries, caucus goers had to show up a specific time and location. they cannot cast their votes throughout the day or send absentee ballots. momentum and organization have always been the key to victory for candidates during these caucuses. the stakes are quite high for the candidates who are vying

for i won votes and for a big one in the first event of election season. joining me now to discuss, this is okay henderson, news director at radio iowa. it's good to have you with us, thank you for making time for us. so, how does it feel on the ground, give us the sense that the atmosphere and energy. what are you hearing from voters there? and do you think that they're willing to make the trek out during the middle of this extreme weather? >> well, for one, it is chilly if not frigid. number two, things are heating up among the desantis and trump campaigns. they have recruited a lot of people in precincts across the country to be calling their neighbors, making sure that their neighbors had a ride to the caucuses, which started 7:00 local time. so, it would be that organization at the ground level, the precinct level that determines whether there is turnout. i talked to a couple of county chairs today, one of whom who is in the growing republican

area of south central iowa, she says she expects robust turnout. she says that her phone has been ringing off the hook would people who are new caucus goers, asked her how does the caucus work, how do we participate, when do we had to be there? i talked to the emmett county chair up in northern iowa, and he to expects turnout to be good. now, if you ever been stuck inside your house for many, many days, one of the things i keep telling people is that many iowans have been hunkering down since thursday. they have not been out of their house, their vehicle has not been out there garage, so by 7:00 monday night, those people may want to get out and go. that may be a factor at the caucuses. >> absolutely, might be a very good factor. i had to ask you, even though you are in this, some candidates have been sounding optimistic about the turnout on monday night. they have already faced,as you said, some hurdles outside of

canceling events. k ramaswamy, for example, -- at one point, he also had to address a small crowd via ipad. realistically, how does this change the momentum of the campaign going forward if, in fact, what there is a factor in turn? >> well, again, it will affect these last minutes events. if you talk to some of the campaign organizers, the people who want to turn people on caucus night, sometimes, these caucus events are a pain in the neck, because they have to divert themselves from figuring out if people have their ride to the caucus, if people know where their caucus is, and they have to get people to and at an event at a certain time on sunday night before the caucuses. in some respects, this gives the campaign staff a real

avenue, if you will, to focus on turnout on monday night. >> you have donald trump saying that the 60 mother is a good thing for him, as his supporters are, quote, more committed than everybody else, more energized, perhaps. trump senior campaign manager said that iowans are used to this kind of weather, while d.c.-based reporters are not. you are an island based journalist, give us a fact check on that. how difficult of an environment in this for you and your colleagues? >> well, i got here at this particular site with my minus 40-degree gloves, so i am prepared. many iowans have the overcoat, they have the hat, the face wrap, the things that prepare them for. this just a few hours drive south from here, there are a bunch of people at a stadium in kansas city, watching a football game. midwesterners are prepared for

this. the idea that this sort of sprung unannounced is really nothing that is going to keep people from attending, if they really wanted to attend. as you mentioned, donald trump last week and said his folks would crawl over broken glass to get to the caucus. the desantis campaign is spreading this message among his supporters that this is kind of do or die. and nikki haley had events today in the east corner of the state, where she had a few hundred people turnout. so, people are interested in the campaign. they know that this is their one chance to have their voices heard in this presidential campaign nominating process, so, i mean, sure, turn out could be incredibly low. it's not going to be 186,000, as it was in 2016, but who

knows? let's stay tuned. >> i was going to say, you have the pulse much better than i do for iowa and voters. is this coming down to the individual candidate personalities, or is issue censure? what do you think is the driving force right now for iowa voters? >> well, for the trump supporters, they are just solidly behind the former president. for the desantis supporters, they are sort of attracted to the idea that let's hire a ceo. let's not take a risk that we nominate someone who might be embroiled in legal controversy heading into the election. nikki haley presents herself as sort of the problem solver candidate, so they are appealing to different elements of the party. the one thing i think surprised a lot of people in iowa was this time last year, ron

desantis had one major victory in florida. i think people were surprised that he waited so long to actually launches race here. he won on a book tour but did not do many stops in iowa, and then he did not campaign here in earnest until after the spring was almost sprung, so, i think that was a factor in the way that his campaign has progressed -- >> such an important point. -- sorry, i did not mean to cut you off. i just was agreeing with you there, such an important point about ron desantis. >> you know, we've seen other candidates, for instance, a person named obama, and third at the race in february and hit the ground running here. he was not as well-known, not expected to do well, and he put in the work. here desantis has certainly put in the work here. he spent a lot of time campaigning in the state, so,

it is sort of really interesting to be here on the cusp of that des moines register and nbc news iowa poll, because we'll find out if there is been a late breaking theories. -- exactly. >> okay henderson, thank you for your time, thank you for breaking all of that down. joining me now is jennifer rubin, an opinion writer at the washington post, david cronan, a washington bureau chief for mother jones. they are both msnbc analysts. and the latest pew research center poll, haley is actually ahead of the centers for the first time. what do you think that means, if anything at all? >> you know, it's bad news for desantis, because he has no game plan in new hampshire. he does not do well here, i think he is probably out of the race. but what it means for the overall time mimic for the race, i don't think it's that much, and that donald trump still, according to that poll, and

we're waiting for the new one to come out within an hour or so, it's still up by 35 or more points. and this is in iowa, where, again, we had to keep reminding ourselves that iowa has in recent decades done a very bad job of telling us who the gop nominee is going to be. ted cruz, no. rick santorum, no. mike huckabee, no. trump did win in 2016 and, of course, is the incumbent in 2020. but, by and large, iowans, less than four coming, out at the mundane. that will do a really good job of determining who will be the republican nominee. >> jen, any predictions from your and for the des moines register poll tonight. how do you think it works? >> i think david is onto something, which is rhonda scent this, it's hard to say that he has crashed and burned. he never got off the ground to begin with. it was not only that he got

started late, because when he showed up, nobody liked him. he turned out to be this weird, awkward, of not just kind of personality. and remember, iowa is all about person to person campaigning. this is the quintessential retail politics. so, if you can't get along with people, if you're always seen as ill at ease, always looking at your lips and having a strange smile, chances are people will not be on your side. i do think that this is kind of do or die for him. what i will look for, at least on monday, is the margin of victory. donald trump will win, but is this by 35 points, 35 points, 25 points? i think for nikki haley to have any hope or prayer of ever catching him, she's going to have to come above expectations, as they say, and that means making it closer than people thought it would be. >> david, you know, donald trump jr. already preemptively blaming a sigh up to suppress

voter turnout. thanks mother nature is perhaps conspiring against his father. sums sounds like he is worrying, but to jennifer's point about margins, do the margins matter for donald trump, how much she wins by? >> only if it is very close. right now, more than half of iowa republicans according to the last polls are in favor of a guy, whose lawyers are willing to commit murder in the white house and get away with it. a guy who wanted to send the constitution to be restored. a guy who wanted to execute, or suggested we execute the top u.s. military commander. i can go on and on here with the authoritarian impulses. to me, the mega picture here is not so much what will happen, how much he wins, but still, the republican party is interested with this demagogue, authoritarian, autocratic want to be. and nikki haley and ron

desantis and chris christie and the others who have not made it this far have not been able to break that up on this cult like cold he has on the party. independent voting, maybe that will be interesting, but there is nothing yet to have a spot leave, a magic that he will not retain this grippy has on the republican party. >> one name we have not mentioned, guys, vivek ramaswamy. jennifer, i'll give you the thought on that. is he irrelevant in this race as of monday evening? >> i thought we were going to get through this entire segment without mentioning him. >> that's my fault. >> there you go. yes, it is. >> that's my fault. i went off script, but i wanted to ask about him because this is a guy, even a couple of months ago, everyone would say, he is poised to be a vice presidential uptick, really blazing the path, he's the anti

establishment, and lo and behold, he's not even registered. >> yeah, he's even more unlikable than donald trump, even more misogynists than donald trump. i guess he has some limited money so he can keep going, so i don't see why and don't expect him to make much of a ripple here. >> all right, jen, david, please stick around, we have more to scs with you. as we have been talking tonight, nine eastern, we'll get an exclusive w ll from nbc news andy that moines register. nbc's katie terse and steve kornacki will break down what that pole means in our live coverage. next, new details on a short-term spending bill, as congress tries to stave off yet another government shutdown. shutdown.

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and senate leadership agreed to take up a single short-term bill that extends the two government funding that sounds too much for us and eight. this comes as speaker mike johnson struggles with party infighting about the contents of a spending bill, hard-line republicans, they are pushing him to backtrack from the 1.59 already reached with democratic majority leerhuck schumer. in protests, they blocked a vote on procedural measures to advance their parties own bills, unrelated to the spending deal. this, as other republicans are pleading with the speaker to stand behind the deal, to hold on to his credibility with the democrats.

jen reuben, david corn are back with me. jen, what do you make a deal reached tonight. leader schumer has signaled on thursday that he was making or at least taking steps to pass a short-term spending bill. mike johnson has reportedly voted against short term bills in the pass, but, here we are. >> this is just another kick the can down the road, because he is trying to pull off and definitely this clash, the kevin mccarthy clash that brought his speakership down. the fact that the matter is that even mike johnson understands that he needs to keep the government open, and it would be disastrous for the republicans if it closed. on the other hand, if he defies the right wingers, the extreme right wingers, most are right wingers, and it only takes a few, then he'll be in the soup again. it seems like we're playing déjà vu all over again, and that is the problem.

the republicans are are ingested and capable of governing. their radicals, destructive, and mike johnson is now in charge of this circus. it's actually has gotten worse for him because they are down three people in the house, due to recitations, departures and so on. so he's got very little room to maneuver when. we do finally get a bill passed, of course, it will be the democrats again as the grown-ups and the room. >> david to jen's point about déjà vu, we knew that this would happen. why, because the fundamental problems of the republican party whenever salt and addressed. it was just changing kevin mccarthy for mike johnson. you still have the hard-line critics, and they are already talking about the motion to vacate if they are not pleased with his decision. and you got the moderate democrats saying they would save him if the republican or the far-right would try to oust mike johnson. with the make of how all of this is unfolding this week, that we are back to where we

knew we would eventually be, because they prop up was never with kevin mccarthy personally or mike johnson personally, it always had to do with the extreme maga right being able to hold the entire caucus hostage. >> the bottom line here is the dynamic, right? you have people in the republican caucus who are not dealmakers, they're hostage takers. actually, they want to blow up the bill. often, people put and threats and say, if you don't do this, then will blow dings up. some of these people actually want to blow things up. they want to bring the government to a halt. they want to destroy any possibility of there being bipartisan compromise on anything. you've heard in the last couple days, republicans in the house and senate saying they don't want a deal on immigration, because that could help joe biden. so, they don't want to legislate. they are there to troll, to be performative, and, mike johnson,

is it stepping exactly in the same shoes as kevin mccarthy. there is this organization of terroristic republicans, who are not threatening him with the same thing that i did with kevin mccarthy. and i don't see a path forward here for the republican party. i think it's groundhog day, over and over again. as soon as we figure out -- >> i feel like it's torture porn then it is groundhog day. >> this is what we will see again and again. at the end of it, maybe somebody else that mike johnson is in the position. banging the gavel. >> the dynamics are not changing. jen, let's talk about another optical here, you have some conservative hard-liners threatening it shut down, unless congress toughens immigration and asylum laws. again, what does this tell us about how the republicans legislate, even though the short term bill buys congress

some more time, the march that thine is still right around the corner by legislative standards? >> you have to remember that in the supplemental bill, biden offered a bunch of money for immigration, and they won't pass it. they won't take yes for an answer. they have to concoct these increasingly extravagant and workable, probably unconstitutional claims on changing asylum law, changing all sorts of policies that really are not feasible or will help the problem, because they don't want to deal. they want the issue, want to keep people inflamed, keep people aggravated. and this is why we have gotten to the point where liz cheney says, you can't put these people in charge of the house, this is luschini. she says that they are dangerous, and she is. right >> david, let's turn to republicans at a contempt hearing targeting hunter biden. they will not let that go. it's obviously at this point nothing more than a political

poll. you have steve scalise, the majority leader, announcing the house will vote on the resolution to hold under biden in contempt of congress sunday. your thoughts on what they continue to do here with hunter biden? >> there is a right way and wrong way to go about an investigation. i think looking at hunter biden 's past business dealings, something that could be a congressional matter of inquiry, the same way with jared kushner and his two billion dollar investment from saudi arabia after he served in the trump administration. so, i don't think this is off limits, but the way you do that is by doing it. you hold an investigation, and it don't make an impeachment inquiry, when they have yet -- there is not a single republican out there who can tell us, can name a crime or potential crime, and alleged crime that joe biden committed that is worthy of an impeachment inquiry.

so, it's a bunch of boces running around, trying to get on fox news or newsmax, or if they can, oan, to feed the beast with all of this hyperbole that has no basis in fact. james comer, the republican from kentucky, who runs at the committee here, still can't tell us what this is about, so that leads to the circus that we had this weekend. hunter biden made it a circus himself. it's all kind of crazy, but that is because people at the top of the republican party here can't do this seriously. >> to jennifer's point, these are not serious people about governing the country, it's just about the ettrick's and politics. jennifer rubin, david coren, thank you to both of you, really appreciate your time this evening. next, out this fence secretary lloyd austin's disappearing at could be a liability for the biden administration? ministration

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middle east. u.s. military officials today carried out another airstrike on an iranian-backed houthi rebel in yemen. this comes just one day after the u.s. and uk launched strikes on dozens of targets in western yemen in response to the group's ongoing assault on shipping vessels and lanes in the red sea. some fear the strikes could escalate the conflict in the middle east, as the region already grapples with israel's war on gaza. now, as those tensions flare, questions are swirling here at home about defense secretary lloyd austin's hospitalization and his failure to inform, not only the public about his house but also the white house. today, the pentagon says that the austin remains hospitalized in good condition. it's unclear when he will be released. here to discuss is greg bruin, former u.s. diplomat and former director of global engagement in the obama white house. he is not the president of the global situation room ink.

it's good to have you on the show, thank you for making time with us. let's talk a little bit about what happened here with the fence ontario. we have several democratic lawmakers criticizing, rather, president biden's decision to order the starts without seeking congressional approval. some saying's actions were unconstitutional. what are biden's obligations here under the law. >> i think it's pretty clear that the law is on biden's side. we're talking about over 130 attacks on u.s. troops, u.s. vessels. at some point, the president has to be able to defend our forces when they are under such constant threat. while i understand the concerns that some democratic members are raising, having served in the national security council, weighing some of these decisions, it is critically important that the president, especially when we have such a dysfunctional congress, is able to act and to act swiftly.

>> there is the criticism that he had time to build a coalition and get countries to buy into this potential airstrikes, including the uk and other countries. why not go to congress to get political support for such a decision, as well? >> the short answer, ayman, we need only look at how congress struggles adjust to keep the lights on and basic functions working. i think that that is not a realistic prospect. look, we have been in constant communication with these allies on for months on embassies or something. it does not come together overnight. i think it's important with so many global crises in potential crises happening around the world, that there is a return to politics stopping in waters. we're not trying to make political aide within the democratic party every twist and turn, the president is trying to protect our people, trying to protect our economy. i think we owe him our support.

>> let me go back to, if i can for a moment, to defense secretary lloyd austin. in the context in which all of this has happened, and the importance of, it last week, you had an iraqi militia group said that its deputy had operations in baghdad, was killed an american airstrike. as we mentioned, the houthi rebels and the attacks on the red sea vessels. this kind of move would require, as i understand it, the approval high up of the chain of command but the strike also took place just two days after the defense secretary, lloyd austin was transferred to intensive care. before the white house was notified about his health, you know this a lot better than i do, how this is hospitalization impact the chain of command, the chain of decision-making, and the fact that his health was a secret, while the substantial military operations, were taking place? >> let me just stay off the top here, you can not run this

level of military operations from your hospital bed. i don't care how many screens you have put up, you just don't have the level of communication, the level of contact with their team, not to mention, you're also dealing with some pretty serious health issues. if you're still in the hospital now, over a week and a half later. i think it's important that secretary austin look at how he takes care of himself. first, the responsibility to deputy secretary and others in the administration who can handle this, because you are raising, ayman, there have been a lot of concerns about notification, notification at the public from the white house, but also who has responsibility. we have to ask ourselves at some point, how much of this is done for optimal reasons, trying again to discount the severity of what he has done and what he will probably do. >> brett bruin, or is it

pleasure, thank you for coming on and helping us make sense of all of that. coming up, a member of south africa's legal team on the genocide trial against israel at the hague. at the hague 30 grams of protein! those who tried me felt more energy in just two weeks. -ugh. -here, i'll take that. woo hoo! ensure max protein, 30 grams protein, 1 gram sugar, 25 vitamins and minerals. and a new fiber blend with a prebiotic. (♪♪) as the world keeps moving, help prevent covid-19 from breaking your momentum. you may have already been vaccinated against the flu, but don't forget this season's updated covid-19 shot too. ♪ ♪ ♪ ( ♪ ♪ )

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from breaking your momentum. you may have already been vaccinated against the flu, but don't forget this season's updated covid-19 shot too. a major development, perhaps even a pivotal point materialized in the israel-hamas war this week. you like we did not hear much about it if you are only following western media. >> for the past 96 days, israel has subjected gaza to what has been described as one of the heady as conventional bombing campaigns in the history of modern warfare. palestinians in gaza are being killed by israeli weaponry and bombs from air, land and sea. they are also at immediate risk

of death by starvation, dehydration and disease, as a result of the ongoing siege. >> that was south african lawyer -- on thursday, gier opening statements to judges at the international court of justice south africa has formally accused israel of committing genocidal acts against palestinians and is calling on the united nations top court to order and an immediate halt to the israeli military operations in gaza. expose person for the israeli prime minister netanyahu has four seat rejected that charge, calling it, quote, and absurd blood libel and accusing the south african government of giving political anlegal cover to hamas. meanwhile, secretary of state antony blinken called the genocide charge merit-less. the national security council spokesperson john kirby, went a st further labeling it, quote, merit-less, counterproductive and without basis in fact, whatsoever. and then you had pennsylvania

senator john fetterman who said that the south african should, quote, focus on the spire in crises on its own continent. over the last three months, we have seen the tremendous destruction in gaza, but the legal case, that legal argument for what constitutes genocide all comes down to one thing, intent. had israeli leaders demonstrated a deliberate and purposeful plan to destroy in whole or in part the palestinian people? south africa's lawyers say, yes, and this week, they submitted an 84-page evidence packet backing up that claim, includg the words of israeli officials being among them, prime minister benjamin netaurging israelis to remember the old testament account of the car marriage of -- quote, spare no one,kill men and women, infants and suckling, streets one passage. the defense minister yoav gallwing that, quote, gaza won't return to what it

was before. we will eliminate everything. to the minister of energy infrastructure pledging, quote, they will not receive a drop of water a single battery until they leave this world. as put by the new york times, top israeli political and military leaders have themselves helped to bolster the case against the government. at the hearing, south african lawyers also presented a video shot by an israeli man showing a group of israeli officers or soldiers singing no on involved civilians. [crowd chanting] >> in response to south african presentation, israeli legal advisor told the packed auditorium that his country is fighting a war that it did not start, that it did not want. he took everyone back to the horrors of s attack on october 7t saying, th tortured children in front of

children. parents in front they burned people, including invincible live, and systematically rate scores of women, men and children. no matter how the icj rules in this case, it's legal conclusions are binding, but they are not enforceable, so what value to south africa's case have one is effectively arguing before the court of public opinion. after the break, i posed a question to the director general of south africa's department of international relations and cooperation, zane dangor. ation, zan dangor

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wrapped up two days of arguments against israel for the alleged crime of genocide against palestinians in gaza. earlier, i spoke about the case with the director general of south africa's department of international relations and cooperation, zane dangor. mr. zane dangor, thank you so much for joining us. let me start by asking you broadly, why the south african government felt the need to bring this case forward at the hague? >> well, we have been looking at what has been happening in gaza since the 7th of october. we have seen the response to the awful attacks on the 7th of october by the israeli government. not only was it disproportionate, but the level of destruction of both civilians and of the

infrastructure to sustain a campaign in gaza seems to be sustaining. -- as a signatory to the geneva convention, without reservations on any at the other articles, we are duty bound to take it to the icj. the jurisprudence on the icj such that three parties to the genocide convention are duty bound to prevent and punish genocide when they see that is happening, even if they think it's a farfetched case of genocide, they are duty bound. and we found duty bound to take it through the icj, so that they could stop an unfolding genocide taking place, in realtime. >> you had a chance -- south africa had a chance to present its case on thursday. the israeli government had a chance to make its defense on friday, saying, effectively, they were acting in south defense. but what do you make that the

israeli argument so far that were presented to the icj on friday morning? >> sure, as you said, south africa made its case. it was very detailed presentation by an excellent team of lawyers, about the israeli response. but what they did is not much politics. lots, we put the facts on the table, and as you know, the genocide convention, the crime of genocide turns on and ten, and we spent a lot of time showing in ten, including a segment of genocide coming right down from the prime minister, to senior cabinet ministers, including two senior army officials. we also demonstrate that this message was basically internalized by the soldiers on the ground, with many attempts singing after the destruction of homes, lands that they have

carried out, for example. the prime minister to the gazans in typical times was down to the home elect. we shouldn't tent about -- without with great detail. the response by the israelis and then at the oh at the issues of legality. they wanted to assert their right to start defense. article 51, as our lawyers pointed out, what the icj found in 2006 that an occupying power can use policing and other powers to declare war and use military force to people that they occupy and take control over. essentially, wouldn't the use of unlawful disassembly, they argued that india response,

that the killing a civilians was inevitable because of urban warfare. this is not urban warfare, this is the dropping of what we called them bombs on civilians in one of the densely populated areas in the world. >> let me go back to something you said earlier about the fact that the south african government or south africa could not sit idly by and watch what has happened since october the 7th and do something. i am sure that you have seen the comments by israeli officials and others that the south african cases being questioned as to why it is happening now, that south africa never bought charges, for example, against the syrian government or other atrocities that happened. what do you say to that charge about why south africa has not brought other cases to the icj? >> we may not have not taken other cases to the icj, but we

never condoned the bombing of civilians, never condoned the bombing, even with the russia ukraine issue, we said we may understand russia security concerns, but we said the use of force is unlawful, because there is not even eight there by. ukraine similarly, we said that -- was unlawful in terms of the principle of distinction. but in those cases, what you need to see is the issue of intent. you cannot take a case to the genocide convention, to the egg, if it is not clear about intention that is key to the. issue we view that in the very present. in fact, the issue of intent is clear in this case that it must of the other cases of genocide that has been declared by the icj has been genocide over the last 25 years. it really lets you get this level of genocide of intent by senior leaders, appointed

people in the army. so, the issue of intent was there for us. i think people must adjust on this particular case. -- we'll be able to accept criticism, but we cannot say that because you may not have done enough in instances that in this instance, when you have a textbook case of genocide unfolding, when you have the worst humanitarian, one at the worst humanitarian situations unfolding. in fact, with the percentage of civilian deaths is perhaps the worst in the last 100 years, not a total numbers but the percentage of civilian deaths, in total numbers, the number of journalists, for example, killed is more than the number of journalists killed and world war ii. the severity of what is

happening in gaza cannot be undermined, and we should not use -- the question why every not dan, why are we doing this and have not done anything in earlier instances. >> let me ask you, if i can, about what you hope or expect again from these proceedings at the international -- sorry, the international court of justice. obviously, the icj decisions are binding, but they are not enforceable. what do you hope to get out of the icj, the icj ruling or decisions? >> as you have pointed out, we went through the article nine approach, where the oldest report is binding. you're right, the enforcement mechanisms are not in place. the u.n. security council will have to play a role. but we know that this case is going to take months if not years to decide, to be decided on the merits. what are the merits of genocide is a play. what we are asking the court to

do is while it decides on that, that provisional measures are decided on so that no further damage is done. one of our vision measures is that israel holds its military exercises and allows you and aid to come in. but on the way we can get that urgently. essentially, it's a cease-fire. we are not using the term cease-fire, but it is a cease-fire. it's an urgent cease fire. as you may know, perhaps, this would not have been necessary if the security council would have asked for a cease-fire months ago. >> zane dangor, sir, thank you so much for your time. i greatly appreciate your insights and for joining us this evening. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for making time for us at home. tomorrow on ayman, we are talking to martin luther king day third and his wife, andrea waters king ahead of martin luther king jr. day, and oscar

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